All was rolling along the right way for Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys until Sunday's trip to Indianapolis.
It was there in which Dallas found disaster in the form of a 23-0 humbling loss at the hands of the surging Colts.
"We can't go out there and do that. We cannot. That is not us, at all," Elliott said after the defeat. "It's embarrassing. We've got to be better than that, way better."
Dallas was held to 292 total yards with 112 on the ground, including 87 on 18 carries from Elliott. In the process, the Cowboys were shut out for the first time since 2003.
The struggles on offense were all the more frustrating considering Dallas dominated time of possession to start the game, but simply couldn't finish drives.
A Brett Maher field goal attempt was blocked on the first Cowboys' drive, a touchdown was dropped on the second before Elliott was stopped on fourth down and a key sack prevented a score on the third.
Elliott wasn't the only one upset by the loss, as Cowboys owner Jerry Jones chipped in as he's wont to do.
"[We] lost an edge early and just never got it back," he said. "Just very disappointing."
"I think a loss like this was very much needed," he said. "I think it's better for us in the grand scheme of the season, and I think we needed to get put in check. I think we needed a reality check and we needed a reminder that we still have a lot of ball left."
